London Irish shock the pundits on opening weekend, a promising start for the new laws, and the shirt that doesn't wash
Rugby World
Six Premiership stars to watch
Matt Kvesic (Exeter Chiefs) For so long, Kvesic had the pre-fix, ‘England’s next openside’ but after moving from Worcester to Gloucester, over time the German-born backrow – still one of…
Sevens stars set to explode into 15-a-side European rugby
Summer always sees a flurry of activity as players move clubs, but it feels like this year more stars of the sevens game swapped codes than ever before. It is…
October 2017
A full list of contents for the October 2017 issue of Rugby World
Finn Russell: “As long as I’ve got a smile on my face…”
Finn Russell: “As long as I’ve got a smile on my face…” WITH THE sun shining on Beauly, a Highland hideout west of Inverness, Finn Russell surveys a day with…
Introducing… the Guinness Pro14
HANG ON to your hats, this is going to be a bumpy ride. The Guinness Pro12 have upped their club count for next season. From September, two South African sides…
Secret Player: “Most specialist coaches are shadowy figures”
There are sports, football and basketball for example, whose global popularity lies partly in their intrinsic simplicity. Rugby is not one of those sports. To fully understand what is going…
Rugby Rant: Back off, touchjudge
THERE IS little doubt that rugby union has never been a harder sport to referee. Players are not only quicker and stronger but arguably more streetwise, while coaches are constantly…
New season means a new look for Rugby World
Find out what's inside the new-look Rugby World for the 2017-18 season
Hotshot: Connacht back-row Paul Boyle
Ireland U20 captain Paul Boyle has swapped Leinster for Connacht in the summer of 2017